Niger community alleges neglect by govt

RESIDENTS of Moilo Shegunu Village in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State have cried out to the state government over lack of basic amenities which they said had made life unbearable for them.

It was learnt that Moilo Shegunu community with a population of over 3,000 people do not have potable water, electricity, roads and hospital.

Northern City News on Tuesday gathered that children in the community trek 25 kilometres to attend school in the neighbouring village, a situation which had discouraged many of them from attending school.

A community leader, Alhaji Bolus Zarimai, told our correspondent that the people had suffered serious deprivation in the past years.

He spoke to Northern City News when the ‘Hard-to-Reach Programme’ of the United Nations International Children Fund visited the area to assess the vaccination programme in the community.

Zarimai said, “UNICEF is godsend; they came to heal people from different diseases especially in my community. The presence of this organisation in my area has saved a lot of lives that could have otherwise perished.

“It affords our children the opportunity to be immunised against killer diseases that are killing children under the age of five.”

He said that his community had been benefitting from the UNICEF programme since 2016, adding that there had been no incident of maternal mortality in the area.

According to him, “We have not felt government intervention for years, but the presence of the UNICEF medical outreach has saved a lot of lives as we are now being educated on how to live healthy.”

The community leader added, “The road to our community is horrible; we find it extremely difficult to take our women and children to the nearest primary health centre which is more than 40km away.”

He lambasted politicians for not fulfilling their electoral pledges, saying, “During their electioneering campaigns they will find a way to come and canvass for votes while making promises, but after the elections you will not see them again.”

Another resident, Zinab kuta, told our correspondent that the community members had been enjoying UNICEF Hard-to-Reach programme, particularly in terms of drug supplies.

The Director, Primary Health Care in the Shiroro LGA, Musa Aliyu, lauded the programme for providing drugs and other things for the community.

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